1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel nozzle support funnel. More particularly, the support funnel comprises a structure with a conical section on top and a smaller opening neck at the bottom for use in frictionally maintaining a fueling nozzle within a large fuel tank opening of a truck fuel tank.
2. Prior Art
At present, there is no structure available for use in maintaining a fueling nozzle securely within the large opening of a truck fuel tank. Such support structure is necessary because the fuel nozzle could disengage from within the fuel tank due to fuel surges through the nozzle, a driver getting into or out of the cab of the truck, etc., creating undesirable and costly fuel spills.
It has been found that many drivers use a makeshift bungee cord solution to hold the fueling nozzle in the tank while fueling, if an adjacent structure to which the bungee cord may be attached is available. However, not every truck is capable of supporting the makeshift bungee cord solution.
Some trucks have a fuel tank inlet opening positioned rearwardly on the tank, or in some cases placed on the extreme rear area of the tank, accessible only by reaching around the trailing edge of a truck's fairing, or there is no grated stair subjacent the fuel tank inlet opening to which the bungee may be attached. In such configurations, the bungee cord system is not available for use.
Refueling stations also typically have a separate satellite fuel nozzle hooked up to the same pump, so that truckers can fuel two tanks simultaneously. In this scenario, where it is ideal for both tanks to be filled simultaneously, a secure means of maintaining a fuel nozzle within the fuel tank inlet opening becomes even more necessary.
There are several flaws associated with the makeshift bungee system. A driver may occasionally forget the bungee somewhere and lose it. The general solution against loss seems to be to leave the bungee attached to a stair all the time. However, the rubber stretched across the stair creates a hazard on the stair. Another issue is durability, in that bungee cords become old and give way after repeated heating and cooling cycles while also being stretched.
It can also become quite tiresome to manually support the weight of a fuel nozzle for the time it takes to fill a large truck fuel tank, which can take between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on tank size and pump flow rate, especially for an individual with decreased hand, arm, and/or shoulder strength.
Thus there has been found the need for a support structure for supporting a fueling nozzle effectively during the filling process.